ADT Security Services tells Zalud’s Blog that it has installed two of its Clear Warning emergency voice communications systems on the campus of Radford University in Radford, Va. Utilizing specialized speaker technology, Clear Warning will allow university officials to provide intelligible voice communications to thousands of people during a crisis situation.
The two units were placed at opposite ends of the university – one on the main 80-acre campus and another on an adjacent 75-acre athletic area.
Rob Tucker, director of university relations for Radford, said the decision to install Clear Warning units on campus was highly influenced by last April’s tragic events at Virginia Tech University, where a gunman killed 32 students and faculty before taking his own life.
“We are located only 15 miles from Virginia Tech, so what happened there greatly impacted us,” he said. “The safety and security of our students, faculty and staff has been given the highest priority.”
Radford, located in the rural New River Valley of the Blue Ridge Mountains, has 9,122 students studying in more than 150 undergraduate and graduate programs.
Mark Nelson, manager of national strategic accounts of ADT’s Federal Systems Division, said clearly understood information provided by Clear Warning can be vital before, during or after an emergency.
“Using live or pre-recorded messages, Clear Warning’s intelligible voice messaging can deliver accurate, timely information to every person within a one-quarter mile,” he said. “By providing useable information, rather than just a siren or horn, this system can help reduce personal injury and limit property loss during a crisis.”
Clear Warning can be installed permanently on buildings or poles or can be mounted on a trailer for portable use where needed. The units can be equipped with an optional camera to provide authorities with video from the surrounding area and can be operated with back-up power from generators or solar panels.
According to Nelson, Clear Warning fits well with a 2006 presidential homeland security directive regarding the implementation of effective, integrated, flexible and comprehensive mass notification systems to alert and warn the American public in situations of war, terrorist attack, natural disaster, or other hazards to public safety. The directive is aimed at both public and private sectors of the nation.
Clear Warning is already in use at various U.S. military installations throughout the world and is now available commercially to college and universities, businesses, public safety agencies and other organizations.
